Art Appreciation 4

Period Styles

- groups of art in which the works derive their characteristic structure from the culture prevalent during a particular time period * Gothic Art or Ming Dynasty art

Regional Styles

- groups of art in which the works derive their structure from the culture prevalent in a particular place. *Dutch Art or Latin American Art

Gothic Style

- included a return to greater naturalism, as focus shifted back to the natural world in many ways - Figural forms began to reflect the observation of physical facts, and a phase of artistic evolution began that would eventually culminate in the intense naturalism of the Renaissance, especially in Italy from the 14th-16th centuries

Late Roman Empire

- see suppression and streamlining of natural detail in art that followed and was a reaction to that long period of naturalistic representations of the human figure. - a means of stressing other-than-natural features that are ideological, spiritual, or philosophical in character ** Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs**

Hierarchical Proportion

- slight abstraction or deviation from absolute naturalism - used to create a sense of greater physical stature and presence, a manipulation of actual sizes - meant to show the figures' relative importance - convey dignity and significance within the broad cultural style shared by these associated groups

humanism

- the philosophical belief in the value of humans and their endeavors, * Italian Renaissance - both celebrated human intellectual and creative accomplishments - as can be seen in use of linear perspective in The Holy Trinity

Early Imperial Era of Greece

- the practice of idealization in portraiture was again favored for the imperial likenesses, often seen clearly as part of the political propaganda used to promote the positive perception of the emperor and the promotion of his political goals and programs - Augustus

Romanesque Art

11th and 12th centuries - noteworthy with regard to the idea of expressing a prevalent preoccupation among Christians about the ends of their lives and the end of time - greater abstraction and distortion; lack of naturalism

Analysis

Aspect of Formal analysis *How elements are related - what elements in the work were used to create unity and provide variety? - Symmetry/ asymmetry - Scale of the work - What creates emphasis? - Rhythm??

Theo van Doesburg

Abstraction of Cow - sought to reduce the linear forces of a cow's form to the three he thought were essential components of the physical and metaphysical world, that is, vertical, horizontal, and diagonal - he tried to simplify the forms and volumes, progressively creating a strongly abstracted picture that few of us would likely recognize as of a cow if we were not led through the process by which he developed the image

Interpretation

Aspect of Formal Analysis *comes as much from the individual viewer as it does from the artwork. * It derives from the intersection of what an object symbolizes to the artist and what it means to the viewer. * records how the meaning of objects has been changed by time and culture *** a process of unfolding - can change and some are better than others

Abstract Expressionism

included works of drawing, painting, print, and sculpture that were focused on the physical properties of the medium used as opposed to pictorial narrative, although not all of them were without reference to the figure or the phenomenal world altogether * Untitled * The Deep, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko

Abstract (style)

might remind us of what we see in the phenomenal world by only reflecting some physical features rather than detailing the object, place or person itself

Expressionism

more narrowly used to define the idea of foregoing a measure of naturalism in favor of the emotional content, emphasizing how the culture and the artist felt about the subject matter. - This may be used in the West or East

Abstraction

not a modern method of art, but has been used in many eras - simplification of naturalistic forms, appears in the conventions of representation in the ancient Near East - these conventions did not follow upon and show a reactionary counter-movement to a naturalistic approach, nor were they a stage that further amplified certain features for purposes of expression or emotional exaggeration.

3 artistic styles

period, regional, and formal styles

Idealization

pharoh - representational image of the royal body, the need to depict him as fit and worthy ruler meant that he was generally shown as being in the prime of life with a trim and perfectly proportioned physique and with no apparent hint of weakness or vulnerability - Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greece

Realistic Works

relay information or opinions about the underlying social or philosophical reality of the subject matter: they go beyond the natural appearance to express additional ideas

Two categories that determine how and what is communicated in a work of art

representational and non-representational

canon

set of principles and norms for the representation of royals that was very specific about just how they must look, including norms for the proportions of the different parts of the body to one another, their stance, and other details. - set standards for their garments, headgear, the false beard, the arm and fist positions, and other details - remarkably conservative and unchanging

Tympanum

space above the portals or doors of the Autun Cathedral in France

Vanishing Point

the attention of the viewer—is on the line between them where the patrons kneel in prayer.

Naturalistic

the forms in the painting are quite similar in appearance to actual cows *Rosa Bonheur

orthogonal lines

they converge at a point on the floor where the images of the patrons kneel, below and outside the vaulted area - divides the fresco into two zones: the zone above that, which for Christians symbolized eternal life, and the skeleton beneath the line which symbolizes the waiting grave

Naturalistic works

those in which the appearance corresponds to nature, that is, to how the subject of the work looks in the natural, phenomenal world, such as the cows of Rosa Bonheur

Veristic

truthful renditions of their likenesses Greece

Composite View

with portions of the body shown in profile and others in frontal view so the artist can provide details that would not be visible in a strict profile. - completed by giving a frontal view of the eye on the profile of the face and head shown

Formal / Critical analysis

an examination of the elements and principles of design present in an artwork and the process of deriving meaning from how those elements and principles are used by visual artists to communicate a concept, idea, or emotion

Republican Period of Greece

favored an anti-idealized approach to portrayal of people that went beyond simple naturalism to a very frank and unvarnished study of individuals with a measure of veneration for the more mature citizens as models of an accomplished life

Yakshi

female nature figure, guarding one of the fours gate at the Great Stupa at Sanchi, the emphasis is on fleshy form, voluptuous and prosperous, indicating a robus healthy physique with connotations of earthly blessing and prosperity

Aleksandr Rodchenko

first artist to use the term objective art

Tetrarchs

four co-ruling emperors- work together to rule the 4 diversions of the vast Roman Empire

Naturalism

given way to uniformity with nearly identical figures of men in the same costume, crown, armor and stance as they embrace one another to show their joint office and efforts in the service of Roman citizenry

Formal Styles

groups of art in which the works derive their structure from principles that are not characteristic of either one place or one time. **Surrealism, Impressionism, or Modernism; "isms"

Expression

has been sought for many purposes related to thought, belief, emotional impetus, and any human concern that might prompt the creation of artistic articulation, in its various forms and media

Representational (Style)

if the work has visual reference to the phenomenal world - suffers from over generality

Bodhisattva

India - person who is able to reach nirvana but compassionately chooses to help others out of their human suffering

Representation

a visual reference to the experiential world, we can further characterize the work of art using terms such as -naturalistic, idealized, or abstract

Classical

Ancient Greece and Rome - the work of this era of artistic pinnacle

Description

- Aspect of formal analysis * identification of components Description components: - starting with line - Considering shape - Indicating mass and volume - Organizing space - On texture - In terms of color

Yellow Cow

- Franz Marc - clearly does not slavishly reproduce natural appearances but instead seeks to convey through abstraction a sense of light-hearted lyrical expression for the animal - the image went far beyond what he saw to conveys messages of what he thought and felt about the subject - abstraction

Gum Bichromate

- Steichen - adds color and creates a sense of hazy atmosphere for a mysterious nocturnal landscape

Catalogue Raisone

- a detailed, comprehensive list of the artist's work, in 1866, launching Vermeer toward the fame he and his thirty-four known paintings enjoy to this day.

Italian Renaissance

- a period of conscious and purposeful revival of the ideas and ideals of the classical past - humanism - artists of the Italian Renaissance sought ways to express themselves as individuals in their art - linear perspective

Non-objective or Non-representational

- art that does not attempt to present an aspect of the recognizable world - meaning is communicated through shapes, colors and textures

Style (of art 4.5)

- can encompass the principles about form and appearance shared within a certain culture or era - can refer to a movement or group of artists and their work, where the commonalities can range from employing like elements and principles of design, to using certain materials or processes, to following a set of religious, political, or ideological beliefs - indicates the visual characteristics of an individual artist's work.

Style

- can refer to the general appearance of a work or a group of works that were created in accordance with a specific set of principles about form or appearance - can refer to the art as a whole that was made during a particular era and within a certain culture - can also refer to how elements and principles of design are employed by an individual artist: the visual characteristics of that artist's work.

Idealized

- depictions of royal figures in ancient Egypt - does not truly reflect its actual appearance

Evaluation

Aspect of Formal Analysis * description, analysis, and interpretation is done for this single goal - evaluations vary - what you have discovered about the work, yourself, and the others in the process - Your reaction to the artwork**** - evaluating contemporary works of art is more difficult than historical pieces

Stylistic movement

Italian Renaissance, Realism, or Abstract Expressionism

Photo-Transformation

Samaras: by using his fingers and a stylus to move and smear the dyes of a Polaroid print while still wet - blurs the surrounding imagery, including his own phase which became quite indistinct in the process

True naturalism gave way to

a notion of the perfect or idealized form

contrapposto

beginning of the classical period in Greece - weight shift of the kees and hips that occurs when standing one leg at ease or walking

Four aspects of a formal analysis

description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation

Andachtsbilder

devotional images used to aid prayer

Stupas

dome-shaped shrines, to house Buddhist relics